Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho does not expect to add to his squad as the Premier League transfer window closes on Thursday, despite warning a difficult season lies ahead for the English giants without further recruits.
For the first time the Premier League deadline has been moved forward to the day before the season kicks off when United host Leicester City on Friday.
Unlike in England, the window for the rest of Europe’s leading leagues doesn’t close until later in August, meaning Premier League clubs have faced even more inflated prices when buying from the continent.
Chelsea shattered the world record fee for a goalkeeper with an €80 million ($92 million) swoop for Athletic Bilbao’s Kepa Arrizabalaga on Wednesday to replace Belgian international Thibaut Courtois, who has joined European champions Real Madrid.
As part of that deal, Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic has also joined Chelsea on a season-long loan deal.
However, there has been little other late movement from the top six clubs with Mourinho in particular frustrated at missing out on a host of targets to bolster his options in central defense.
Harry Maguire, who could face United for Leicester on Friday, Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng and Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham were all linked with United, while Atletico Madrid’s Diego Godin emerged as a late target on Thursday. But Mourinho now says he is focusing on the players already at his disposal.
“The information I have is no,” said Mourinho when asked if he would be adding to his squad.
“I’m not confident, I’m not confident and the market closes today so it is time at least for me to stop thinking about the market because the market will be closed.”
Mourinho has been further irked by seeing rivals Liverpool steal a march on United to emerge as the second favorites for the title behind Manchester City thanks to a more than £170 million splurge on new signings.
However, Liverpool did their business early and are not expected to be busy on deadline day after recruiting Brazilian international Alisson Becker for a short-lived world record €72.5 million fee for a goalkeeper and midfielders Fabinho, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Despite slashing a club record £60 million on signing Riyad Mahrez, City have enjoyed a uieter window after spending over £200 million last summer on assembling a squad that smashed a host of Premier League records in romping toward the title.
Australian teenager Daniel Arzani joined the English champions from sister club Melbourne City on Thursday but is expected to be sent on loan to Celtic.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has been one of the more outspoken critics of the shortened window with time running out for Spurs to make a single signing this summer.
The move was designed to ease disruption in the first few weeks of the campaign after a number of high-profile players including Alexis Sanchez, Philippe Coutinho and Virgil van Dijk missed matches at the start of last season due to transfer speculation.
“If you compare with Europe, you are at a complete disadvantage and it does not help the clubs in the Premier League,” Pochettino said on Spurs’ tour of the United States.
“It’s not going to help the Premier League clubs because we’re going to compete in Europe and in the Champions League but have 20 days less.”
So far Tottenham’s interest in Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish has been rebuffed with the Championship club holding out for a reported fee in excess of £30 million.
Elsewhere, Everton are hopeful of tying up a deal for Barcelona center-back Yerry Mina, who scored three times for Colombia at the World Cup.
Wolves could also build on an impressive summer of dealing on their return to the top flight with a deal for Belgian international Leander Dendoncker from Anderlecht.
Moaning Jose Mourinho resigned to not signing anyone else before transfer window slam shut
Moaning Jose Mourinho resigned to not signing anyone else before transfer window slam shut
- United boss has warned that without new signings the season could be a tough one for the Old Trafford club.
- The Reds finished second last season, but a full 19 points behind rivals Manchester City.
Premier League ready? Wrexham takes on world champion Chelsea in the FA Cup
- The prospect of playing the likes of Chelsea every week is not just the hope for Wrexham’s owners but the mission
- “They said that from day one and everyone laughed at them,” Williamson said
LONDON: Next up for Wrexham are world champion Chelsea.
While a place in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup is at stake when the teams face off at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday, for Wrexham it will be a timely gauge of just how “Premier League-ready” it is.
Speaking to industry experts last week, Wrexham CEO Michael Williamson said the Welsh club — owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney — would be ready for the topflight of English soccer when the time comes. Even as soon as next season, just three years after they were playing non-league.
“What we’ve proven is that with our culture we’re pretty damn good at being ready,” Williamson told the FT Business of Football Summit.
Even with celebrity owners, huge financial backing and a global reach through the fly-on-the-wall documentary series “Welcome to Wrexham,” it cannot be overstated just how remarkable the club’s rise has been.
Back-to-back promotions have taken them from playing non-league games in a crumbling stadium to the second-tier Championship and in contention for the playoffs to the Premier League.
The prospect of playing the likes of Chelsea every week is not just the hope for Wrexham’s owners but the mission.
“They said that from day one and everyone laughed at them,” Williamson said. “We know what we have to do. It’ll be really difficult but we can do it because we’ve proven that we can, not just survive when we get promoted, but that we can actually thrive.”
Wrexham’s meteoric rise has meant they have constantly played catchup to try to keep pace with their on-field success. More than 60 players have been signed since the takeover was completed in 2021, with 16 joining last summer to build a squad capable of competing in a division with former Premier League champion Leicester and a host of clubs with very recent topflight experience.
Even still, the spending is nothing like that of England’s topflight. Nathan Broadhead became Wrexham’s record signing in August for a reported $10 million. Before him, Sam Smith cost a reported $2.7 million.
Compare that to Chelsea, which have spent close to $2 billion under American owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital since buying the club in 2022. That money helped Chelsea win the Club World Cup last year — but they have not come close to winning the Premier League and they could miss out on qualification to the Champions League this season.
Strive to survive
Wrexham’s spending is likely to have to increase significantly again to bridge the widening gap between the Premier League and the Championship, with promoted teams increasingly struggling to make the step up.
Last season, all three promoted teams — Leicester, Ipswich, Southampton — were relegated. The year before, Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton all failed to survive in their first season in the topflight.
“We’d have to look at a squad change and we’re definitely planning that,” Williamson said in the event of Wrexham securing a fourth straight promotion.
While player changes have been frequent, manager Phil Parkinson has been a constant and was recently told by McElhenney that he has a job for life.
His immediate focus is on an FA Cup upset against Chelsea.
“We’ll be going all out to produce a really good performance, and we’ll see where that takes us on the night,” he told the North Wales Chronicle. “But we know we’ve got to respect Chelsea. What a squad of players they’ve got. They’ve spent billions over the last 10 years.
“They are Club World Cup champions — I don’t think we should forget that — so statistically we are playing the best club in the world.”
